Three of us enjoyed a fine night out with dinner at a local Santa Barbara fav, Black Sheep. I`d been there with my dinner group on a 2 or 3 occasions, but these guys are resident patrons and I discovered why. The chef is simply amazing. To compliment the exquisite creative cuisine, we each brought a...

1994 LEWIS CELLARS RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- it had been many years since I have had this wondrous wine from the stellar 94` vintage; I`ve had nothing but great bottles and fond memories so I was happy to see a friend pull this from his cellar; the cooling unit in the cellar was not working p...

A couple of gems shared with good friends over dinner: 2005 LOPEZ de HEREDIA VINA BOSCONIA RESERVA RIOJA- when it comes to the Vina Tondonia vs. Vina Bosconia debate, I`m on the side of the Bosconia and this bottle remained me of why; following the deep ruby red cherry color, the first notice was th...

Our dinner group got in last minute dinners at the soon to be closed Sly`s, a top fav located in Carpinteria. James Sly has long been considered one of the top chefs on the West Coast and recently lost the ability to renew his lease after 10 years and has decided to retire as a result. This is a hug...

Our blind wine tasting group met in one of our members home to enjoy Tempranillo from Spain along with well selected and prepared Spanish themed appetizers and homemade paella. Our host provided 2 starter wines, one a tangy, yeasty and honeyed 2013 Muga Cava Conde de Haro Rioja and the other a 2014 ...

Our lunch group deviated from its more preferred big and bold red wine theme for the 2nd month in a row in favour of doing wines from Alsace [last month was Loire]. It was refreshing to get some exposure to a region[s] not visited that often. I did take notes on all 14 wines, but I’m only writing up...

The rooftop patio atop our penthouse is a very rare and special place as attested by many who have frequented it. It has an unobliterated 360 degree view of Santa Barbara including the local mountains with partial ocean views and we have furnished it for extreme casual comfort which demands use incl...

Our lunch group deviated from our usual big and bold red wine theme to explore the wines from Loire. I deviated from my usual note taking role and just sat back and enjoyed the fellowship, food and wines. There were a few remarkable wines that I remember enough to make note of so here’s another one,...

Our lunch group deviated from our usual big and bold red wine theme to explore the wines from Loire. I deviated from my usual note taking role and just sat back and enjoyed the fellowship, food and wines. There were a few remarkable wines that I remember enough to make note of so here tis: 1995 NICO...

Our lunch group deviated from our usual big and bold red wine theme to explore the wines from Loire. I deviated from my usual note taking role and just sat back and enjoyed the fellowship, food and wines. There were a few remarkable wines that I remember enough to make note of so here’s another one:...

Our lunch group deviated from our usual big and bold red wine theme to explore the wines from Loire. I deviated from my usual note taking role and just sat back and enjoyed the fellowship, food and wines. There were a few remarkable wines that I remember enough to make note of so here tis: 1995 NICO...

A dear friend invited a few of us to help him celebrate a special birthday. We lunched at Ca Dario, one of Santa Barbara’s finest Italian restaurants and enjoyed the following wines; NV H. GOUTORBE BRUT ROSE- I`ve been a fan of this house ever since staying in their family owned and operated lodging...

Six of us dined recently at the Four Seasons Biltmore restaurant, Bella Vista. This is a fabulous resort and its beachfront property and restaurant setting is truly world class. We sat on the outside patio to take advantage of the warm summer evening, fresh ocean breeze, sound of the surf pounding i...

When the email invite came out for our next dinner group event, I was immediately elated to see that one of our members was treating us to 2 different Guigal La Las from 3 different vintages. Little did I know that we would have 6 stellar tete de cuvee champagnes, 3 grand cru white Burgs and 3 other...